| Church History - Our Story |
Who would have thought that a small group of dedicated independent thinkers would have worked to
form a Unitarian Church in Tullahoma, a small community about 65 miles from Nashville and
Chattanooga? They did, and that church is still going strong, making an impact in our community in many
ways.
It all started with an article in the March 8, 1955 issue of LOOK magazine that caught the attention of
Lee and Frances Spaulding. The article was entitled “What is a Unitarian?” As Frances read the article,
she realized she was a Unitarian in her thinking and had been for some time. She began talking about
Unitarianism to some of her friends and acquaintances and soon there was a small group of interested
people who began to meet in homes to discuss their liberal religious beliefs.
Frances took the first steps toward forming an organized Fellowship by calling the Unitarian Church in
Nashville on August 23, 1958. She talked with Rev. Bob Palmer, their minister, who sent her some
information and agreed to meet with the group at the earliest mutual convenience. On Friday evening,
October 3, 1958, Bob Palmer met with the group and 3 days later sent a letter to Monroe Husbands,
Associate Director of the Department of Unitarian Extension and Church Maintenance in which he told of
the meeting with the Tullahoma group and described Frances Spaulding as the “guiding spirit” behind the
Tullahoma group.
The group continued to meet for discussions in homes informally for a few weeks. A meeting was held
on November 16, 1958 at the home of Bob and Mildred Geist for the purpose of planning a Unitarian
Fellowship. The planning proceeded and the Unitarian Fellowship was formally organized on November
28, 1958 and which time officers were elected and by-laws adopted. Frances Spaulding was elected
President; Hugh M. White, Vice-President; Donald Male, Secretary; and Robert Geist, Treasurer.
The group made application for acceptance into the American Unitarian Association on January 3,
1959 and stated their plans to hold regular meetings on Friday nights in the Coop Building in Tullahoma.
(The Coop Building is located between Arnold’s Furniture and the Tullahoma Municipal Building.)
Mr. Monroe Husbands wrote a letter informing the group that their application would be formally
approved on February 11, 1959. He advised them that “without exception, Fellowships that have met on a
week day night have not in the long run proved successful. Psychologically, Sunday has proven to be the
very best meeting day.”
In the autumn of 1959, the newly formed Unitarian Fellowship, in cooperation with the Christian
Scientists, rented a room in a building called The Wheel on the corner of Westside Drive and West
Lincoln Street. The first meeting at this location was on October 18, 1959. The Christian Scientists met
on Sunday mornings and the Unitarians in the evenings. The Christian Scientists complained about the
tobacco smoke odor left in the room by the Unitarians.
The group soon learned that the Jewish congregation was renting the Boyles Kindergarten building at
the corner of Wilson Avenue and Maple Hill Drive on Saturdays, and they were able to rent it for Sunday
mornings beginning January 3, 1960. This was the first time they were able to follow Mr. Husband’s
advice to meet on Sundays. They also had space to have Religious education (RE) classes for the
children, but the classes did not get very well organized, according to Dorothy Garrett. Joe Reavis, a
member at that time, described the experience of meeting at the kindergarten as “church in a box.”
Everyone had to bring something—the hymnals, coffee pot, food, or flowers, and then had to take it back
home at the end of the service. The Jewish and Unitarian groups occasionally met together and
sometimes shared speakers. The sharing of speakers continued into the mid-60s, long after the present
building was purchased.
The present building was purchased in the fall of 1962 for $10,000. A few members lent the
Fellowship a total of $1000 for a down payment and a mortgage was secured for $9000. There was an
agreement that when the mortgage was paid off in fifteen years, their loans would be repaid. However, in
1977, when the mortgage was paid off, all the lenders forgave their loans. In 1962, the building consisted
of the kitchen, bath, two small rooms for R.E. classes, the fireplace room and a small porch. The Brandon
room at that time was an unfinished shell that had been added to the building by the previous owner and
was used as a carpenter’s shop.
The Brandon Room was known for many years as the Owl Room. This was because of an experience
Don Male had. One night, soon after the purchase of the building and before the electricity was
connected, Don was on his way home to Manchester from a meeting in Tullahoma. He stopped by the
building to have a look around. With only a flashlight for light, he was inspecting this shell of a room. The
previous owner had left an assortment of junk in there. On a windowsill, Don saw a stuffed owl. He
wondered why he had not noticed it before and contemplated taking the owl home with him for
safekeeping. But then he decided it was old and dusty and the taxidermist really had not done a good job
anyway. And just as he was moving the light off the dusty old thing, it flapped its wings and flew to a high
open rafter. So when Don told his story, everyone called it the Owl Room. A few years later, when the
room was finished, Jimmy Wu presented the church with an original painting to commemorate the famous
bird of 1962. After much work by members of the church, this room was completed in 1970 and became
our church meeting room.
The enthusiasm of this small group was evidenced from the schedule of their programs. There was a
Sunday school class for adults as well as for children on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. followed by church at 11:
00 a.m. There was something planned for every Wednesday evening. One Wednesday a month there was
a book discussion, one Wednesday a business meeting, and the other Wednesday nights there were
discussions of pre-announced topics.
The group reflected the times in the 60’s in that most of the people smoked cigarettes, cigars or
pipes. Usually the smoking was done before the service and during the talkback when people also had
coffee. There were no snacks in those early days.
The Fellowship was formed during the time of the Civil Rights Movement in America, so naturally
they obtained speakers whenever possible to speak on topics related to the Movement. Several blacks
who were prominent in the Movement locally were frequent guest speakers.
The group was blessed with members who liked to sing. Charlie and Lucy Brandon and their daughter
Frances, Don Male and Vi Ferrell were in the very earliest congregation. So hymns were sung with
gusto. During the early 70’s, the church twice hosted Gospel Singings which Charlie and Lucy Brandon
organized. The Christmas season and winter solstice were always celebrated with parties, the singing of
carols, and the exchange of gifts.
Rev. Bob Palmer of the Nashville Church played a very important role in the Fellowship for many
years. He spoke at the dedication of the building on Dec. 9, 1962 and the dedication of the Owl Room on
May 24, 1970. He conducted child dedication ceremonies and memorial services. Bob performed the
wedding ceremony of Sue and Don on May 15, 1971, which was the first wedding in the church. He
conducted the Sunday morning service at least once a year for as long as he served the Nashville Church.
Among the outstanding and influential speakers in the first few years in addition to Rev. Palmer,
were: Rev. James Madison Barr of the Memphis Unitarian Church, Rev. Ken MacLean of the Knoxville
Unitarian Church, Dr. Duncan Howlett of All Souls Church in Washington, D.C., Dr. Miles Horton of the
Highlander School in Monteagle, Joe Sir, a merchant of Fayetteville, and Dr. Davies, a British Unitarian
minister who was an exchange minister with Bob Palmer for six months.
Rev. Donald Male was ordained as a Unitarian minister on Dec. 9, 1973. He attended Vanderbilt
Divinity School after retiring from the Air Force and AEDC. He served in this capacity for 25 years and
was Minister Emeritus until his death on August 14, 2008. Don also taught astronomy classes at the
Summer Unitarian Institute in Blacksburg, VA during the 60’s. The Thomas Jefferson District of the
UUA was formed in 1963 and Don became President in 1969. In 1977 he was
named a trustee of the UUA and served in that capacity for 10 years. Sue Male succeeded him and
served for two years.
Charlie Brandon rebuilt and donated a piano to the church in 1962 and we are still using that piano. In
1969 and 1970, John Fox and Charlie Brandon headed the project to convert the Owl Room from a
carpenter’s shop to our present sanctuary. John began the project, specified the requirements, hired the
contractor and oversaw the project for the first year. Charlie took over the second year as Chair of
Building and Grounds and oversaw the room’s completion. Because of his enthusiasm and determination
to see the project completed, the room was dedicated to him.
Many of our members have received outstanding awards through the years due to their involvement
in the community, too numerous to name. All of our members have donated time and efforts to improve
our church building. All of them are our “unsung heroes.”
Eleanor Templin in 1973 at Don Male’s ordination wrote and read this statement, entitled The
Quest. "We do hope this brief reminder of past accomplishments will instill a determination in each of us
to build well on the foundation so far laid. We want to continue together in our search for Truth; in our
love and respect for each other, and in our desire to build a better world for all People. We sincerely hope
that this is still our quest and will continue to be."
Information compiled by Barbara Snyder and Charlotte Fox from historical records kept by Lucy Boss.